How to edit bitmap part of PDF image in Illustrator?

Any way I can erase selected pixels in a bitmap image that's already
been inserted into an Illustrator vector image document that's been
converted to PDF, without having to pull the bitmap object back out of
the document, and without converting the whole doc to bitmap form?

That is, I started with big tiff (or was it jpeg) B&W bitmap image;
dragged it into an Illustrator document; added all sorts of vector
colored annotations, text, etc, all over it; and saved it as PDF.

(All the vector objects and the bitmap image are all a single layer, I'm
pretty sure, though I think the B&W pixel image is behind everything
else.)

Now I want to modify one small area of the bitmap image by erasing all
the pixels in a small region of it, then drawing some vector stuff in
that area, without starting all over, messing up any of the added vector
art, or having to pull out the bitmap image, edit it in Photoshop
Elements, and then try stick it back in, or anything like that.

Can I edit the bitmap part of this PDF doc in Photoshop Elements, while
leaving the vector part untouched and not converted to bitmap format?
Elements doesn't seem to want to open the PDF without bitmapping all of
it.

AES schreef:
> Any way I can erase selected pixels in a bitmap image that's already
> been inserted into an Illustrator vector image document that's been
> converted to PDF, without having to pull the bitmap object back out of
> the document, and without converting the whole doc to bitmap form?
>
> That is, I started with big tiff (or was it jpeg) B&W bitmap image;
> dragged it into an Illustrator document; added all sorts of vector
> colored annotations, text, etc, all over it; and saved it as PDF.
>
> (All the vector objects and the bitmap image are all a single layer, I'm
> pretty sure, though I think the B&W pixel image is behind everything
> else.)
>
> Now I want to modify one small area of the bitmap image by erasing all
> the pixels in a small region of it, then drawing some vector stuff in
> that area, without starting all over, messing up any of the added vector
> art, or having to pull out the bitmap image, edit it in Photoshop
> Elements, and then try stick it back in, or anything like that.
>
> Can I edit the bitmap part of this PDF doc in Photoshop Elements, while
> leaving the vector part untouched and not converted to bitmap format?
> Elements doesn't seem to want to open the PDF without bitmapping all of
> it.


Why not note down the exact position of the bitmap in Illustrator (use
Transformer). Open the bitmap in Photoshop, edit it and replace it in
Illustrator